1. Technical Field
This invention generally relates to take-up devices for electrical cords, and specifically it relates to a take-up device for flat tape like conductors such as telephone cords.
2. Background Art
U.S. Pat. No. 4,646,987, to Edwin R. Peterson a co-inventor of the instant invention, discloses a single reel take-up device for connecting a telephone and a cooperating handset which has become quite popular. This device provides an adjustable length cord, up to approximately six feet in length, between the handset and the telephone. However, recently there have been numerous requests for an even longer version. Simply adding length to the previous version requires that the diameter of the take up reel be increased in order to accommodate the additional length. Additionally, the corresponding tension on the coil has to be increased to retract the additional cord. Increasing the reel dimension results in a dramatic increase in the overall dimensions of the device, and in fact, the device becomes too large to be practical. An additional drawback to the previous version is that it is comparatively complex and expensive to manufacture and assemble, requiring either gluing or ultrasonic welding in the case of the plastic housing which is how it is currently produced.
Therefore, what is needed is a cord take-up device which is capable of accommodating a much greater length of cord, without sacrificing compactness, and which is simpler and more cost efficient to manufacture.
Accordingly, it is an object of the instant invention to provide a compact cord take-up device which is capable of retrieving and storing a greater length of cord than was previously possible. An additional object of the instant invention is to provide a cord take-up device which is more cost efficient to manufacture by eliminating the need for gluing or ultrasonic welding.